The braided headband is a cute and easy style to keep hair off your face for sports, make overgrown side bangs less noticeable, or for styling your unwashed hair. It is one of the best styles for giving the illusion of effort, when it is really quite simple! Try the following methods of creating a braided headband.

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Steps

Method 1 of 2: Making a Traditional Braided Headband

1

Brush your hair. In order to create a smooth braid, you will need to have tangle-free hair. Freshly washed hair is the most difficult to braid because it is so slick, so use one day old (or several days old) dirty hair for your headband. You can use wet or dry hair, although if you begin with wet hair it will be wavy when you remove it from your braid at the end of the day.

Create your part. Your braid will be giving the illusion of a headband, so it needs to cross from ear to ear. Use a comb to create a smooth, even part running horizontally across your head from behind one ear to the back of another. Try to avoid any jagged lines or waves in your part; the straighter the line the better it will look. Pull back the rest of your hair into a ponytail.

Begin braiding. Use the three pieces of hair to start a traditional braid. Take the section on the right, and cross it over the middle section of hair. Then, do the same with the left section, crossing it over the middle piece.

Incorporate more strands. As you braid, pick up small pieces of hair from your parted section in addition to your regular three sections. Pick up a piece on the right, add it to the right strand, and cross it over the center. Pick up a piece on the left, add it to the left strand, and cross it over the center.

Continue braiding. Work your way across your head above your hairline, adding in more strands of hair as you go. Your braid may have been thin to start, but will begin gathering size as you add more strands.

Finish your braid. As you get close to your ear, finish the braid by tying it off with a small clear elastic. The loose ends of the braid will blend in with your hair down, or can be incorporated into an updo. You can also choose to braid your hair in a regular braid to the very ends, and then tie the tips off with a ponytail.[1]

Method 2 of 2: Making an Inverted Braided Headband

1

Comb your hair. To start your braid, you must first have tangle-free strands. Brush through your hair to remove any knots, and mist it lightly with water if your hair is very busy. Avoid braiding your hair the same day you wash it, as it will be very slick as a result of being clean and be difficult to braid. Whenever possible, wait 1-2 days after your most recent shower to create this braided look.

Part your hair. You will be creating a faux-headband, so your hair should be parted in a line along where a real headband would naturally sit on your head. Use a comb to mark your part from ear to ear, in an even section. Try to avoid creating a jagged or bumpy line; a smooth part will create the best braid.

Section your hair. An inverted braid is started the same way a traditional braid is, with three pieces of hair. Brush all your hair in the same direction from one ear to the other. Then, at the ear you started brushing from pick up three, even sections of hair.

Begin your braid. You will start with a traditional braid, but unlike a normal braid or braided headband, move your pieces under rather than over the center section. Pick up the right piece, and move it under the middle section. Then, take the left piece and move it under the middle section.

Add more hair. As you move your braid along, you will want to add other pieces of hair to it. When you are moving the right section, pick up another small piece of hair and incorporate it into the right section before placing it under the middle section. Do the same for the left section, by picking up additional hair and moving it under the center section.

Continue your braid. Work your way across your parted section, adding in small pieces to your braid as you go. Make sure to always add the strands under the center section rather than over, in order to make the braid stick out from your head. Your braid may be thicker on the side you end on than the side you started on as a result of gathering a bit more hair.

Finish your braid. When you get to your opposite ear with the braid, tie it off with a small clear elastic band. Finger-brush the ends of the strands out, so that you can incorporate the loose unbraided section back into your regular hair. You can also chose to braid the section in a regular braid all the way to the ends, and then secure the tips of this braid with your elastic band.[2]

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